PREAMBLE
Ansarus is built from the support, hard work, and enthusiasm of great kind human beings from around the world. Our Unified Muslim Society (“we”) is diverse, passionate, and dedicated to the overarching goal of doing good for humanity.
Our Unified Muslim Society guidelines support Ansarus’s vision, offer guidance on how the UMS members can effectively work together, and establish reasonable expectations for any member of the community to agree to and to help. In conjunction with UMS & Ansarus’s code of conduct, these community guidelines ensure that Ansarus fosters a positive and welcoming atmosphere.
OPENNESS
Ansarus environment is open, ethical, transparent and respectful focusing on enabling capabilities and skills improving the integration and quality of family services.
Ansarus Ambassador environment encourages understanding, mutual respect and cooperation. We accept accountability & responsibility that the ongoing operation and future success of UMS as a mission & Ansarus as a project is entirely on us and that it is therefore incumbent upon us to find positive ways to interact and to collaborate.
In everything we do, we aspire to maintain transparency, to provide clarity, and to recognize that the complexities of the project require that we provide support and offer patience to all members of the UMS, be they newcomers or veterans, in order to facilitate understanding of Ansarus and promote how we as a society work together.
DEBATE
We value courteous, lively discussion both online (in forums, chat rooms and so on) and offline (at conferences, meet-ups, sprints etc.), and will treat each other with respect. We recognize that we will lose UMS members support for our priorities and objectives if we fail to treat our members with courtesy and with respect.
We appreciate honest feedback and constructive criticism, and recognize that open, honest conversation often involves more listening than being listened to. We understand that we speak for ourselves and not on behalf of 'Ansarus', 'the UMS, 'users', 'partners', 'members' etc., unless we can demonstrate how we achieved this mandate.
At times, we recognize that debate may be taken negatively or offensively, or may in fact be made in such fashion. We understand that we should apologize when we do say things in a way that is offensive and we should always endeavor to reconcile disagreements. We understand that ongoing negativity, abusive tones and communications, and bullying cause individuals to be unwilling to express themselves or take part in the conversation, and are therefore unwelcome. Such instances may violate Ansarus’s code of conduct.
DO-OCRACY
We value those that contribute to the success of Unified Muslim Society & its Family Services and get things done. We all have different priorities and understand that those of others are valid just as are ours. We are all free to move the project forward in ways that make sense to each of us and that do not inhibit others’ use of and contributions to the software without asking for permission first. By doing so, we take responsibility for what we are willing to do or not do, and we understand that complaining about or arguing over what we feel others should or should not be doing is counter to our culture.
As members of a do-ocracy, we understand that expecting any other UMS member or the Ansarus Ops Team to spontaneously make our priorities happen is unreasonable and inconsistent with our culture. Any responsibility in our project can be carried by any contributor who demonstrates the required capacity and competence, and we encourage everyone to be a part of this culture.
Our roadmap is generated by our UMS members, advisors and Subject Matter Experts and is determined by doers and sponsors that are able to commit the necessary resources to advance Ansarus and family services. While we welcome all opinions on the direction Ansarus should be heading, its ongoing development is necessarily aligned with those individuals that take the initiative to make things happen.
COLLABORATION & PROMOTION
We collaborate routinely since this reduces redundancy and improves the quality of our work. Rather than ‘trying to do everything ourselves’, we align ourselves with complementary projects and organizations for mutual benefit, both inside and outside our community.
As UMS members, we understand that it is our responsibility to find people with similar priorities and attempt to combine resources in order to realize our objectives. Likewise, it is our responsibility as a UMS and as individuals to make engagement and collaboration as easily as possible to ensure success. Failure to do so in no way warrants blame on any individual or group of individuals.
As a UMS, we will endeavor to promote initiatives to raise awareness and encourage collaboration. Likewise, we will promote businesses and individuals that provide Ansarus services and that contribute back to Ansarus and UMS. We encourage all Ansarus providers and users to structure their work and contributions in ways that benefit both their own businesses as well as the wider Ansarus of UMS.
THE ANSARUS Ops TEAM
The Ansarus Ops Team is focused on ensuring the maintenance and production of Family Services as a software product, and on stewarding the overall project. The Ops Team manages releases, infrastructure, security and various aspects of development, facilitates the UMS and members, trainings, events, reports, and carries out various administrative tasks.
Staffed by a small number of team members with varying time commitments to the project, the Ansarus Ops Team is intentionally lightweight, focusing on a narrow range of duties within the project, many of which require considerable time and resources but are also easily overlooked.
The Ops Team is committed to maximizing its effectiveness for the good of the UMS Family Services, however its capacity is finite. It cannot fulfill everyone’s priorities, nor will it attempt to do so. Like other members of the community, the Ops Team will align itself with those that have the resources to make initiatives happen, specifically those initiatives that stand to have the broadest impact on Ansarus users.
Please join in helping and building the first Unified Muslim Society & Family Services for the Ummah & Humanity. Aamiin!
Sincerely,
Syed Rizwan Ashraf